Internet Funny Stuff

Well I wrote a few articles about Internet security, and it is nice to see the Real Estate Association get involved. Although for years, their attitude was, everyone does it. This month the Real Estate Association send out warnings about closing scams that have been going out. Maybe it was my article that convinced them, the problem stems from people using unsecured email accounts. I can email back and forth between lenders, and title companies for days and nothing happens. Banks, title companies, and I use secure email accounts. If you want to get one, just get a domain from GoDaddy.com and you get 1 free secure email account. You can buy more. And it will be a personalized account. You can do that for as little as $10 a year. Sounds like cheap insurance.

The problem comes when I send out paperwork about a closing to clients who use popular, free email accounts like hotmail, yahoo, and others. Read the fine print. Some of those companies have an agreement that they can read, and share your personal emails with the world. And they do. They make a rather tidy profit from it. The scammer buys that information and sends you an email with instructions to wire the money for closing to some overseas account. And those email companies should be held responsible. But they are so big, try to sue them.

The video on the bottom tells about one way of protecting your passwords, and email account. But that does not cover the fact, the email company may be sharing your account with the world. No one may be able to log into your account, but let’s fact reality, information is for sale.

Do this little test. Email someone about buying a new car. Mention a specific car. Then go on the Internet to any site. Now how did they get up ads about that car on all those sites? They aren’t psychic. They purchased the information in your private email. Now try another product like a washer, dryer, freezer, or something really strange. Get the picture?

Well stay safe on the Internet and think about buying that secure email service.

A Little About Ez1 Realty

I’ve been a licensed Real Estate Agent since 2005 and a licensed Real Estate Broker since 2012. When I began my carrier in Real Estate, I joined First Weber based on the exceptional training offered. First Weber was one of the few local Brokers offering extended training courses in a formal setting. In 2005 their training program was rated number 4 in the nation. During months of training, I worked out of their office located on west Capital drive. Instead of working in the suburbs where sale prices and commissions are much higher, I decided to work within the city to gain experience thorough a greater number of sales. The plan worked out well as I was continually faced with new challenges and learning experiences.

After three years at First Weber I decided to make a move to Realty Executives. Working with one of their Agents on a number of transactions was one of the determining factors. The Agent and his office displayed the expertise and professionalism I thought was important to a successful carrier in Real Estate. Another important factor was their commitment to growth and use of the Internet. In 2008 the Internet was a rather new marketing tool. Finding a Broker committed to cutting edge technology was an important factor of my next move.

Over the years I successfully closed well over 100 sales ranging from $15,000 to $625,000. I’ve worked with Sellers and their properties all over southeast Wisconsin. I only work in areas I’m familiar with prices, neighborhoods, market trends, city rules, regulations and other important matters that have to be considered when buying and selling Real Estate. When I meet a Buyer or Seller outside my market area, I find them a qualified local Agent to work with. I grew up on the south side of Milwaukee, built a home in Muskego and another in Menomonee Falls. I’ve sold property in every corner of Milwaukee county and most every suburb in Waukesha and Washington counties. I have extensive experience with residential homes. I have also sold condominiums, retail, commercial, and industrial properties. Over the years I’ve worked with and counseled first time home buyers, worked with buyers to get qualified for loans, and helped buyers get the right loan. I’ve worked with conventional FHA, 203K loans, private funds, and cash buyers. I’ve worked on the purchase of homes from private buyers and all types of foreclosed properties. I’ve written offers on HUD, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac websites. I’ve also looked into online auctions only to find most do not comply with Wisconsin State laws regarding auctions. I feel purchasing properties without proper disclosure is too risky. Most buyers agree after I explain how standard state forms protect their interests. A form of protection most auction sites want buyers to give up.

Before pursuing a carrier in Real Estate I worked as a design engineering for over 25 years, 15 years as a project engineer designing and installing industrial finishing systems. During that time I had the pleasure of working for one of the best mangers in the business. Together we developed procedures to investigate and initiate measures using the latest technology to offer superior products at the lowest cost. We perfected the concept of identifying individual areas, investigating options, introducing new ideas on a controlled basis, and analyzing results. Using this simple system we took the least profitable department in the company, turning it around to the most profitable in a short amount of time. One of the key features of our system was to enlist the expertise of employees from all the departments and every supplier engaged in the manufacture and installation of the systems involved. Attention to detail was the key to success. No idea was too small to investigate or too large to adopt to the products we offered.

I’ve been able to integrate a number of my engineering skills into my Real Estate business. Cost savings has always been a key consideration. My concept and goal is to reduce costs and pass the savings onto customers in the form of lower Listing fees. Using the computer as a tool is an understatement. Having a background in programming and system development is essential. I enjoy developing and refining systems to streamline operations, save time, and reduce the chance of errors. I am a little surprised to see a lack of competition in the Real Estate industry to reduce costs and increase the quality of service, which is my passion.

My spare time passion is Bible study and writing Christian books which include a series on the prophecies Jesus fulfilled, stories and detailed studies on the Gospels, an engineers view on the construction of the Tabernacles, and more. Many of my studies are posted on my Internet site, Advent Bible Study on WordPress. I have a number of books published on Lulu.com. Here are the Internet links.

Rent to Own

What is a rent to own? The actual paperwork is called an Option to Purchase. That is a written offer on a house or duplex to purchase the property in a given time, at a specific price. The Option to Purchase is normally used for buyers who do not have the down payment to complete the purchase. So the buyer moves into the house, pays rent, and many times a portion of that rent is applied to the down payment.

The Option to Purchase is good for a buyer who finds a house but has a low credit score. In that scenario the buyer needs to find a lender who is great at credit score couching and credit repair. The buyer’s credit score has to be raised as quickly as possible. It is very important to choose the right lender in this situation. The wrong lender could lead to a tragic and costly loss for the buyer.

The key is to work with a local lender as well as a local Real Estate Agent. I have no idea how many fake lenders and Real Estate sites are lurking in the dark world of the Internet. Based on experience, Internet lenders may or may not really exist. There are a few large companies that actually lend money. Remember there are a number of fees involved in the lending process. Do you feel safer putting your charge card number into a web page and pressing a button? Or do you feel more secure walking into a local bank, sitting down face to face with a lender in their office and handing over a check?

The key to credit repair is to preform a specific set of steps. At the very least you have to give you Social Security number to the lender so they can check your credit score and print a report. There may be a list of loans on that report you never heard of. There are companies who file fake reports, and for a few hundred dollars will remove that negative information from your credit report. How do you think they got your Social Security number? From the Internet. Be careful with whom you share your information. Real Lenders are required to use extra layers of Internet security.

The key to a successful Real Estate transaction is to choose a local, experienced team. At the very least that team will begin with a Real Estate Agent, a Lender, and Home Inspector. Each person will be state licensed and know their particular fields. The Real Estate Agent will know how to conduct specialized searches to save time, establish marker value, and find the home you want at the best market price. The Lender will guide you to the right loan for your situation and needs to work with the Real Estate Agent to see certain events and plan for them before they arise. The Inspector will know the local codes, and features of a home that may be a concern, and explain basic home maintenance and financial planning to achieve that goal. The team will also need a good Title Company to ensure all the paperwork is signed and funds are collected and properly distributed. Each member of the team has to be a local expert in their field to avoid costly mistakes. The Internet offers a broad range of opinions that may or may not apply to your local circumstances. You need the right experts in the right fields, in your local market to complete a purchase. Don’t be fooled by Internet parties claiming to know every local law, code, and Real Estate Market.

Allstar Performance ALL18220 Cleco Plier

These piers are great when you want to hold a piece of sheet metal to a surface to either rivet or weld in place. They are used in the aircraft industry to hold metal sheets in place for pop rivets. Of course you need the Cleco clamps also. Those are in another article. You can also use Clecos to hold sheet metal panels to a car body to weld, line up, check fit, and many other uses. Let your imagination soar with these handy little clamps.

The Allstar Cleco pliers are top quality and well made. They will last for years. Yes, these Allstar Cleco pliers get 2 thumbs up. You will need a spare Allstar Cleco pliers when working with large panels and 2 people are fitting up a panel. An extra set of Allstar Cleco pliers is a must.

How to List a Home for Sale

I do a lot of Buyer counseling, telling Buyers the step by step process to purchase their first home. Not many people ask me what to do when they want to sell a home. After conducting a number of searches I found a number of active listings with no pictures, some with no description and a few with the same copied and pasted description. I don’t know why people don’t ask what it takes to List a home for sale. Maybe they think they already know. Maybe people think it’s an easy process. Maybe people think it doesn’t matter who they List their home with — they may think all Real Estate Agents know what to do and are all the same. Well not all Agents are as dedicated or professional as others when it comes to Listing a house for sale. Here is a list of a few qualifications to consider.

Experience:

Experience can be a factor, but it doesn’t take 1000 listings to figure out how to do a great job of Listing a home for sale. It takes imagination, dedication, and communication. Figure it out yourself. An Agent with 100 active listings has a greater chance of letting details fall through the cracks than an Agent with 10 active listings.

Pictures:

This is the one that really irritates me. I see so many Listings with few, no, or poor pictures. Photography is an art. Pictures not only show pride of ownership, but pride in the work of the Agent.

Write UP:

Let’s face it, many Real Estate Agents are poor writers. Here again, the description should be designed to capture the attention of Buyers, as well as inform them of the outstanding features they are buying.

Communication:

It happens – call to set an appointment – wait – call back – leave another message – check the data sheet to find out – this Agent only replies to text messages or email. Is this really the image you want to place on your house when its for sale – dealing with an Agent whose too busy to be bothered with a phone call to schedule a showing appointment? It doesn’t happen often but it does. A good Agent will communicate with you by letting you know how many views your house had on major websites, call you when a showing is set, keep you updated on what the market is doing, and other major details.

Open Houses:

Are they really worth the time or effort? It all depends on timing and available buyers in the price range. Then you, the seller has to determine if it’s worth the extra time and cleaning to prepare a house for an open showing. Few houses actually sell from open houses. Buyers like to have a sense of control – show me the house at my convenience.

Listing a home for sale is as easy as locating a qualified, licensed Real Estate Agent and making sure they understand the importance of providing the following services.

Many independent, unauthorized web sites use the HUD and Homepath names to lure unsuspecting Buyers. Once on these sites potential Buyers are bombarded with high pressure sales pitches. Eventually these sites ask for money in the form of fees or monthly membership plans. They do not supply any information you cannot get for free on any of the free sites available. EZ1REALTY SEARCH offers one of the most comprehensive search pages available. You also have the option to request automatic E-mail updates targeting properties with the features, price, and location you are looking for. This service not only saves you time, it is free. You can sign up from this site.

In addition to the official web sites and knock off sites, a third type of site is beginning to appear and compete in today’s Real Estate Online Market. This new type of site offers online auctions. Care should be taken whenever bidding at any auction. The most important factor to remember is an auction does not provide the protection included in state approved Real Estate contracts. In other words, BUYER BEWARE! For information on auctions and risks involved, see the official Waukesha County Sheriff web site: https://www.waukeshacounty.gov/Foreclosures/

Pay attention to conditions of the sale which provides a list of factors to consider before getting involved in the auction process.

“The successful bidder, upon full payment of the bid, will receive a Sheriff’s Deed. This deed may not give clear title to the property. In order to obtain a clear title one must satisfy all superior liens and encumbrances. If a purchaser does not complete the sale, he can be held liable for his deposit, and for all losses and expenses.”

Some of these on line auction sites do not use Wisconsin licensed Auctioneers. Therefore, they do not follow Wisconsin law regarding auctions, which means they do not provide disclosures required by Wisconsin law. For more information see a qualified Real Estate Attorney. Risks are involved.

HUD and Homepath continue to shift costs to Buyers. HUD will pay minimal amounts in Title and transfer fees which normally cost $800 or more. There may be additional costs and fees disclosed at closing. HUD and Homepath will require Buyers to pay these fees before transferring title. These fees may include, special transfer fees, technology fees, closing fees, re key fees, and other miscellaneous fees. Buyers should expect to pay between $1000 and $2000 of additional fees and costs at closing above and beyond the contracted price. Based on current trends, future fees may apply.

What is my home or property worth?

I hear that question a lot. What we want to do is look at similar properties in the same area. Simple right. It may sound simple, but don’t be fooled by computer generated reports concentrating on zip codes. Properties on the other side of a zip code, or city could have a far different value. Computers are great, but they have not seen your house, and only know what people put into them. Some things still need the human touch. In technical terms the report is called a CMA. The computer helps arrange the report, but the properties should not be chosen by a computer. That is where I come in, and often times separate myself from the pack.

The easiest way to receive free marketing information for your neighborhood. To receive a free Comprehensive Marketing Analysis (CMA) for your property simply call me and answer a few simple questions about your house. All I need is an address, number of bedrooms, baths, garage spaces, and I can look up the rest of the information. You should receive your information via E-mail within 48 hours. There is no obligation and your information will not be shared with any other parties. Free, quick, confidential and reliable information from your locally licensed Real Estate Broker.

The information you will receive compares properties within a 4 to 6 block radius from your home and will include active and sold listings available on the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The details you provide and actual market conditions will determine how closely the comparable units are to your home.

In addition to single family homes, this free service is also available for duplexes, condos, multi family apartment buildings, and commercial property.

I bought this set of these hearing aids or amplifiers for a friend. They actually work fine. The digital hearing amplifiers made a difference right away. In one example, we heard a bird more than 100 feet away. She just put in the digital hearing amplifiers less than a half hour ago. The day before she would have not heard that bird. Because the digital hearing amplifiers opened a new world to her, she said, “someones phone is ringing.” She thought the bird was a ring tone.

It makes a big difference when you don’t have to always face someone and talk in a louder tone of voice. Now she hears fine and has been adjusting the amplification down a bit. The digit hearing amplifiers are easy to use and adjust. They come complete with batteries and are ready to go. I know a few other people who could use these digital hearing amplifiers and I will be suggesting them.

Tried and True Real Estate Investment

What is it with Real Estate Buyers today? Working with them day in and day out, I find most Buyers want to get everything they want in the first purchase. What ever happened to planning and moving up in Real Estate? I worked with an engineer about 20 years ago who worked out a plan to get his dream home and it worked. He got it with a very small mortgage he planned on paying off in five years. This is how he did it.

20 years ago interest rates were high and Real Estate sales were slow. So he had to make wise choices. It doesn’t take much to figure out what people are looking for and buying. As with most people, he purchased a starter home. In those days starter homes were the typical 1000 square foot home built in the 1950’s. They are all around the city, available in all locations. After he purchased it he of course updated the entire home. After a year he put it on the market and sold it for a profit. He covered the original purchase price plus the cost of improvements. He moved up to the next size home, over 1200 square feet. Doing the same updates, he put it on the market and sold it for another, larger profit. This gave him a good sized down payment for the next 1500 square foot home, which would have been good enough for most people. Instead, he followed his plan to update this home and sell it. This time he had enough profit to buy a home for cash and do away with the need for a mortgage. Instead he built his first home. Building a home opens the door to adding in a certain amount of sweat equity. Painting, staining and doing a number of other tasks to complete the home save thousands. Building a home usually shows an instant profit. Landscaping and installing a paved driveway also add value. Once the house was complete, he moved his family in and put it up for sale. This time the sale showed a huge profit. It was time for his final move. He paid cash for the best lot available and built the house of his dreams, large enough for his family and where they wanted to live.

The plan took him more than five years but when it was complete, he had the same mortgage he started out with. His mortgage was the same as a starter home, but now he was paying it on a much more expensive home, the one he really wanted. His plan was to pay that mortgage off in 5 years.

This is an easy plan to follow. All you need to do is begin by investing in a neighborhood you are comfortable with. The beauty of this plan is, it works in any market. In a Buyers market, which is usually a slower market, prices usually fall. But look at it in simple terms. Look for a starter home you can purchase in the $60,000 price range and resell in the $100,000 price range. Updates should be held to about $10,000 or less. What does that leave you with? A profit of about $20,000 to $25,000. Not a bad income for a year of work in your spare time. Now in a bad market, don’t forget, prices fall quicker in higher price ranges. Prices also recover slower in higher price ranges. In a good market you may have sold the $100,000 home for $110,000 or maybe $125,000. But look at the next move in a slow market. Your next purchase is going to be for a home in the $150,000, resale value range. In a down market the $150,000 price may drop to $120,000 to $135,000. In reality you are purchasing a larger, finished home with a large down payment. If you plan on moving up from there, of course you will look for another home requiring updates. So, you are not going to pay top price for the home. Homes that need updating may be $20,000 more than the price of the starter home, but what you are doing is using the profit as a down payment so your mortgage is the same, but now you have a larger home.

Of course the same applies in a Seller’s market with prices on the rise. You can sell for a higher price, but your next purchase is of course going to cost you more. A down market can work to your advantage better in a down market, but it still helps in an up market. When it comes time to build your dream home, lots will cost less in a down market and it is much easier to work with builder competing for business. Few people consider these details. I wander why.

Maybe the Internet blurred this vision. There are so may sites making promises they have no way of keeping. Those sites have no way of knowing your local market. Most of the advice they give is incomplete. They slant information for a reason. Those sites want you to buy into their system. Those sites may charge for on line courses. Most of their courses contain a small amount of common sense information loaded down with a ton of hype, like buying a home for $1000 and reselling for $100,000. Those sites fail to show you the work required to accomplish any goal. What is the cost of updating? How are you going to pay for updating? Those sites fail to share what happens behind the scene. Foreclosed homes are sold by highly motivated, highly trained asset companies. Asset companies compete for business from banks. They live or die on obtaining the highest market price for every sale. Asset companies employ people full time to assess local markets on a continual basis. Asset companies know local markets thousands of miles away better than most people living in those areas. The only way you can compete is to gather the same information they use. It is a simple process that requires a minimal amount of time when you invest in neighborhoods you are already familiar with.

Another motive those Internet sites selling dreams has concerns volume. Some of those sites invest a ton of money into Internet advertising to stay onto of search results. A company called Google showed the world how to build a fortune on nickles and dimes. A click here and there, they all add up. Now companies think nothing of paying dollars for leads. When those Internet companies collect your information they can sell and resell it to companies willing to pay big bucks for a lead. Like it or not, your contact information can be sold and resold. Looking for a home? There are dozens of companies willing to pay for your email address. Figure it out for yourself. If those Internet companies selling all that hype on Real Estate investment sell your information for a $1 to $5 how much are they making when they have a list of companies waiting to purchase your information? Now multiple that by thousands. Ever hear the saying, “information leads to success?” It takes on a whole new meaning in this information age.

Now which plan do you feel more comfortable with? The plan that works in any market, or a plan sold on hype? The market has changed. The Internet investment sites still play the same videos using prices from 5 years ago. They also fail to tell you the truth about the market. The cheapest homes need the most amount of work. The cheapest homes are also located in depressed areas loaded with foreclosed properties with little hope of recovery. When the work is complete, the house if still located in and area showing little or no recovery. This is why knowing the local market is the key to success. Getting the right reports is so important.